Tissue dispenser



w. E. MCCREARY TISSUE DISPENSER Filed May 1o, 195e June 28, 1960 l 0 6 6 M P E Lm. 6 711111|1 Il fr H ,L f. 4 n A@ .j v n 6 4 Y 2 1 2v IIIEIIVIIIL lllfflrrllxrr w a 4m :6l 8\ m M u.. m 2 l F 2 ,L

United States Patent TISSUE DISPENSER William E. McCreary, 357 Tinosa, Vallejo, Calif.

Filed May 10, 1956, Ser. No. 584,058

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-5553) This invention relates generally to containers vfor rolls of paper and more particularly to acontainer adapted to be wall mounted and one roll of paper in a dispensing position-andV one or more rolls of paper in` a storage Aposition ready for delivery to the dispensing position. Y

Containers of thisl general type are known in the art and as a whole, are characterized by a number of objectionable features. Among these are: a complexity of construction and operation resulting in excessive cost, necessary maintenance, short life, and annoyance to the operator; a necessity of being recessed within a wall creating unnecessary problems and entailing unnecessary expense; a general unsightliness per se and also resulting from the inclusion of dust catching surfaces; and a diticultness of manufacture and assembly.

Accordingly, the chief object of the present invention is to obviate the above and other objectionable features characterizing known structures.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved container for rolls of paper which includes novel means for retaining the rolls in the dispensing and storage positions and for releasing them therefrom.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for cooperation with the wall of a container which may be inserted in an aperture therein to act as a support for objects within the container and which may be Vmanipulated while soinserted to withdrawsupport from the objects.

A still further important object of the present invention is to provide a resilient plug adapted to be seated within an aperture and project therefrom with a certain bulk to perform a function while being susceptible of change in the bulk upon manipulation to cease or vary the function being performed.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a simple, attractive container for supporting rolls of paper in dispensing and storage positions which may be readily and economically manufactured and which will be of long life in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof in operative position on a wall;

Figure 3 is a top plan viewthereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view thereof to an enlarged scale showing the manner of supporting one end of a roll in dispensing position; and

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of one of the supporting plugs in its manipulated or retracted position.

Referring to the drawings, numeral designates the paper roll container as a whole which comprises a front wall 12, and a pair of side walls 14 which terminate in 2,942,795 Patented .lune 28, 1960 ice 2,.. Y A laterally extending anges 16 by which the container is attached to a wall, or any suitable planar surface, as by screws.

The container l@ is open at its top and bottom and the lower edge l of the front wall 12 may be sharpened or serrated to enable the tearing of the dispensed paper P therealong as will become apparent.

The container 10 may be readily formed of any desired material strong enough for the purpose such as plastic, sheet metal which may be enameled if desired, etc. Incidental to such molding or stamping process,

the lower portions of the said walls 14 are provided with in the novel means for supporting the dispensing and storage rolls of paper inA their respective positions. This comprises a resilient rubber, 'rubberized or plastic plug 24 having a relatively low coeicient of friction which is inserted into each of the apertures 20 and -22 of the container 10. The plug 24 includes a hollow, truncated cone portion 26 merging by a reverse bend into anextended closed tubeportion'28 vwhich projects through and out of the generally round core portion 26 as shown in Figure 4.

The plug 24 includes a peripheral groove 30 adjacent its base by which it is rmly and readily seated in an aperture such as 20 or 22 by merely compressing the resilient plug 24. It will be readily apparent that the plugs 24 when mounted in the aligned apertures 20, form a pair of supporting stub shafts which project -into the hollow cardboard core 32 of a dispensing roll of paper D to elfectively support the same.

Similarly, a plug 24 mounted in the aperture 22'in the upper portion of the front wall l2 engages the outer circumference of the storage paper roll S to support it within the container above and out of contact with the dispensing roll D so that the latter may turn freely on its supporting stub shafts formed by the plugs 24 in the apertures 20.

When the supply of paper on the dispensing roll D has been exhausted, the tube portions 2S of the plugs 24 in the side walls 14, which project externally past the side walls as Ashown in Figure 4, are pulled simultaneously outwardly to the dotted line position in which the plug is distorted as seen in Figure 5. This causes the cone por-A tion of the plugs to be temporarily reduced or shortened so as to be withdrawn from the empty dispensing roll core 32 which then drops freely from the container 10 through its open bottom.

The storage roll of paper S may now be released to drop into'the lower portion of the container 10 by pulling outwardly on the projecting tube portion of the plug 24 in the aperture 22. When the roll S has reached the dispensing position, it is held there while the side plugs are respectively engaged within its core. A new storage roll may be placed in the container to be supported by the front plug as before at the convenience of the user.

It will now be readily apparent that the device comprising the present invention is attractive in appearance, simple and inexpensive in construction, eliminates moving parts and their subsequent repair, enables the user to visually determine if a storage roll is needed or not, and ensures easy rotation of the dispensing roll due to its relatively light weight and the relatively low coefficient of friction of the resilient plugs 24.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various Vchanges in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted Y to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim: Y l-.YA' support adapted toy be mounted on a planar surface having an aperture vtherein comprising a Yresilient member including a base, a peripheralrgroove in said base adapted to tightly seat said member in the aperture,

a conical portion ,extending away from the aperture,` and a tubular portionextending from and back through the conical portion and terminating on the other side of the aperture. i Y Q 2. A device as recited in claiml l' wherein said conical and tubular portions are deforming upon a. pull Yonsaid tubular portion toelongateV the same and shorten the conical portion to materially reduce the amount of'its extension from4 the aperture. f

3. A support for objects having a bore comprising a Ypair of resilient members adaptedfto project partially within` oppositeends of the bore, said members, each comprising a'tubular portion, a conical portion extending 20 4.Y A support as recited in claim 3 wherein Vsaid conical A' Y 4 t portions are deformable upon a pull on the tubular portions of said members to reduce the length of said conical portions to retract them from the ends' of the bore.

5. A support adapted to be mounted in an aperture formed in a planar surface comprising a'exible, nippleshaped member including a basel and' a peripheral groove formed in said base and having sides adapted to tightly engage the edge of the surface defining said aperture, the outer portion of said member including a reverse bend projecting through said base to the otherside of said planar surface.

6. A support as recited in claim 5V wherein an additional portion of said member is includedin the reverse bend upon a pull on said outer portion to reduce the amount of supporting surface aiorded by the remaining inner portion of said member.

"References Cited in thefle of, this patent UNITED STATES VPATENTS Y 2,819,852. Sarro Ian. 14, 

